Lukashenko appoints new ambassadors to countries across far abroad

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has appointed new ambassadors to a number of countries, BelTA correspondent reports.

Yevgeny Sobolevsky has been appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Egypt and concurrently to Algeria, Oman, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the Arab League.

Dmitry Krasovsky will take charge of the Belarusian diplomatic mission in Kenya. He has been also assigned the post of Permanent Representative of Belarus to the African Union, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

Dmitry Derevinsky has been named Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Venezuela. Belarus’ Ambassador to the UAE and concurrently to Kuwait Igor Bely has also been appointed nonresidential Ambassador to Bahrain.

The head of state noted that all the diplomats are experienced people who have worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for many years. “The countries you have been appointed to are different but very important for us,” Alexander Lukashenko said. “I would like to stress that your term of office is not going to be a quiet time there. Keep this in mind. Trade is your remit. Diplomatic job now is not what it used to be with white cuffs, black tied receptions, networking. Task number one for you is trade promotion.”

Alexander Lukashenko urged to actively explore new markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Interest in Belarus is there which was evidenced, among other things, by recent visits to Belarus by the Cuban president and special Representative of the co-presidents of Nicaragua for investment, trade and international cooperation

“Everything depends on our policy. I wish you success. Be proactive. Don’t expect them to come and help you. If there is some useful projects, come forward. We will act, we will help you. But remember: trade is above all,” the Belarusian leader said.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that Belarus and Kenya have established relations, but so far there has been no progress. “I am on good friendly terms with the president of Kenya. I think he will come visit us again,” the head of state said.

Kenya is a huge country with a population of more than 50 million, and therefore Belarusian food products will be in demand there. It is not only about the supply of powdered milk or canned meat – Belarus is committed to helping the African country build up agricultural capacities. “We need to help them organize work. I mean primarily agricultural machinery and personnel,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

Belarus has been developing cooperation with other African countries along this path. For example, the president mentioned Nigeria that recently bought about 2,000 tractors from Belarus: “These are good volumes. But keep in mind: they bought 2,000 yesterday and will buy more tomorrow if our machines prove their worth. Well, you also need to offer good maintenance service.”